Editorial

摘要

'Boomerang' is an aboriginal name for an object, usually fashioned as a particular form of stick, that, when thrown in a certain manner, traces a trajectory that returns the object to the thrower, so that it can be easily retrieved and used again. In more popular parlance, the term refers to an action that turns back on itself sometimes taking the actor by surprise, if the person is unaware of its properties. It is an effect that is opposite to the one intended: in short, a backfire, usually unanticipated, and often very damaging. The current global financial crisis has all the elements of boomerang. Indeed, Michael Lewis (2010) whose book The Big Short is a fascinating tale of how Wall Street was completely unprepared and failed entirely to anticipate the impact of its own actions, has written a follow-up with the title Boomerang (Lewis, 2011).